Unwinding device



s. ROGERS. UNWINDING DEVICE. I

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 6,19I8.

Z/JZESSES )UNITED STATES vPATENT',OFICL 4 To all 'whom 'it may concern:

.l 'SAMUEL ROGERS,

Be it known that I, SAMUEL ROGERS, a

citizenof the United States\of America, residing at Anderson, county of Madison,

State of Indiana, have invented certain new and-.usefuldmprovements in Unwinding Devices, of which the following is a full, clear,

" and exact description.

"machine, and the like.

. This invention relates'todevices for unwinding wire and the like from a\'bobbi n Ior spool preparatory to rewindiiig upon a' coil winding y rotating form such\as used' in It is .an obiect of this invention to provide anunwinding device which Will maintain an even tension, and a tension of the proper amount lin the Wire for all'speeds at which the wire is unwound from the reel.

In particular, it is an aim of this invention to provide an unwinding device that will not unduly stretch soft wire of the fine wire sizes, and thus increase-the resistancel of the finished coil; that will not crack the `enamel insulation andv thus decrease the dielectric. strength of the coils; and that Winds each coil of a seriesor lot with the same relative Atension and gives a finished. coil of approximately the same diameter irre slpective of the amount of wire on the supplyspool. p p

Another object o f the invention is to provide an unwinding device in which the liability of breakage `of the wire due to sud- 1 den starting of the'unwinding device will be reduced to a minimum.

- Another .object of the invention 1s to provide' an unwinding device which includes occur in the wire both duringthe operation` I clearly shown.

means for -taking up any slack. which may of the unwinding device and when the device has stopped.

vention will be apparent from the following description, reference 'being` h'adto the accompanying drawing, wherein` a preferred embodiment of A the In the drawings: Figu of the Wire unwinding device; and v Fi 2 is a top view of the device shown in Fig. 1, lcertain parts being removed for' sakeof clearness. f

Referring tothe .drawings, 20 designates aplatform which is ysuitably supportednear.

Y Specification.v of, Letters Patenti Other and further objects of tlie present inpresent inventionj is y re l is alongitudinal sectional viewv vor ANpEnsoN,PINDIANA, AssICNoR- 'ro THE REMY ELECTRIC. 'i

COMPANY, A CORPORATION or INDIANA.

UNWINDING DEVICE.u f7.

coils4 of wire used, for example in eleclPatented Aug. 3, 1920. Appliction filed December 6, 1918 Seri`a1' No. 265484.. i: 'i

trical apparatus. vThe platform 20 supports l a tubular post 22 which supports for 'rotation a spindle 23. The spindle 23 islprovided with a shoulder 24 which restsupon .a felt washer4 25 which in turn 4is supported upon the upper surface of the post 22. They lowdeiI end of th'e spindle 23 is 'threaded for engagement by nuts 26 and 27. A felt washer 28, or one with .similar mechanical effect,

and a metallicwasher -29 are mounted upon y the spindle 23 and are held in ,positioi' by y means of spring 30. By adjusting the'nut 2 6 the tension in the spring 30l may be varied whereby to vary the frictionbetweenfthe shoulder 24 of the spindle 23, -the kwashers 7 25 and 28 and the washer 29.-

The upper end of the spindlej23 is provided with a pin 32 extending transversely thereof and projecting beyond' the -cylindrical ysurface of said spindle. A hub mgmnotches A34 which engage with the projecti'ng ends of vthe pin 32. Inv this manngi' a.

driving connection'between the thimbl yand the ,spindle 23 is effected. The thimble4 33 is provided witha plunger 35 whichl is -31 provided; on thespindle 23,` by means of `copera'tes with the cup 38 to lform lan inclosure for the spring. A screw 42 having f threaded engagement with the portion` maintainsthe'cover 41l and ciip 38 in'position upon the thimble 33.

`An unwi ding finger.-45 isy lsecured at one end upon'the cup- 38, and atits-lower end, carriesv a fork 46. which supportsiia ber or thimble 33 Afits over the' upper end of the spindle 23 and is provided with ioo shaft v48 upon which is 'rotatably mounted a .grooved Whee'l.47.V i.

It is apparentV hat the thimble 33ffand parts carried thereby'canh'readilybe disasi sembled from the spind1ef'23 by Aulling said ,thimble .upwardlyas viewed inv ig. lw'The .spindle 23 being freed ofthe thimble 33; ythe bobbin or'reelfcarrying the Wire as received from the manufacturer, can be slipped down overthe post 22. A dog49 mounted upon the vplatform 2Q is provided for purposes of piercing the lower wooden end of reel 21 in 5 Order to preventl said reel from turning relatively to the post 22. The free end of' the wire 51 wound upon thereel 21 is brought around the grooved wheel 47 and thence yupwardly around a suitably supported guidelt -wheel 50 and thence to the spindle or arbor located on the coil winding machine, which is not shown. It is vapparent that whenthe .winding spindleis rotated that the tension i in the -wire 51 will cause the finger 45 to -be lvrotated in a counter clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2, around the reel 21. The guide wheel 50 is located with its groove 1 tangent tothe vertical axis of the'spindle 23.

This location is necessary in order that the turning m'omhtv whichl causes the rotation bf the finger 45 may be' constant.

' Upon the initial rotation 'of the spindle" upon which the wire 51 is to be wound, the finger 45 and the cup '38 Lsup'porting'it will vfirst commence to rotate andwto caus'ethe winding upvof'thespring 40. When sufficient stressH is attained in the spring 40 to overcome Ithe friction between spindle 2'3 .and the vpost 22, lsaid spindle will begin toy rotate. The purpose of the spring 40 is to j provide a yielding connection between the finger 45 and the spindle 23 iny order that the ,wirel may gradually take up vthe strain due the inertia of the moving parts and to friction. Itis apparent therefore, lthat the liability of breakage of the wire upon absudden starting of theq arbor upon which the 'wire is wound lwill y. inated. l 'J A 40' Since, due to thelr momentum 1t 1s 1mpossible to stop' the coilvwnding arbor` and be substantially elim# f the unwinding spindle at the sanie time there may be a certain amount of slack in the cwire after the machinek has entirely stopped. The spring 40, however, takes up the slack of this wire automatically. 4The spindle 23 being held from rotating by fricf tion, the spring 40 will cause the finger 45 to rotate in a clockwise directionA as viewed in Fig. 2, orin a direction opposite to that in which it" rotates when unwinding the wire. Therefore, the finger 45 willbe actu'- ated by the spring 40 totake upany slack 'in the' wire l51 which mi ht. occur between llilfthe reel 21m-nd the c'oil wlndin arbor. y

Considerable difficulty has een. experilenced in providing a ,friction device for maintaining a tension in the wire which will f.

` be suitable for all unwinding speeds. Where itis undertaken to obtain friction by metal l'to metal contact, as where the shoulder 24 of the spindle 23 rests directly upon the `upper surface ofthe post 22, it has been found that there is considerable unevenness of .operation of such a friction device, paryhigh unwinding speed. When the tension v connection between said thelspindle.'

the spindleLsaidyieldable connection conf I ticularly atilow speeds. It is found in order to prevent sticking of the metallic -surfacesand jerking of the wire at low speeds the tension in the spring 30 has to be adjusted 'y in such a manner as to be unsuitable for a of the spring 30 is adjusted properlyV for high unwinding speed it has been found .that Y the friction existingl between the metallic surfaces will beuneven at low speeds, .and will 'cause frequent breaking ofthe wirel This difficulty has been overcome by providing felt washers,I or washers of similar mechanical effect between the .revolving and stationary metallic surfaces. The tension in the spring 80 can be adjusted to secure the friction necessary to maintain the wire taut,

and this friction will be substantially uniform at all unwinding speeds. j 'While the form of mechanism herein shown and described constitutes a preferred form of embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood thaty other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow. 1. In an unwinding device, the combination with" a rotatably mounted unwinding finger; of a friction device for retarding the free Lmovement of the finger; and va yielding nger and the fric- 9s tion device: f

2. In an unwinding device, the combinan tion with a rotatably mounted unwinding `finger; of a rotatable spindle; asupport for the spindle; a friction device for retarding the free movement of the spindle; Y and a 4 -yielda'bl'e connection between the finger and' 3. In an unwinding device, the conbina-t tion withK a rotatably mounted unwinding 10.5 finger; of a rotatable spindle; la support for Y the spindle; a friction device for retarding the free movement of the spindle; .and a yieldable connection between the finger and sisting of a spiral spring adapted to wind up upon -the initial turning, of the finger,

land finally to overcomethe friction device.

and cause the rotation of the spindle.

42 In an Vunwinding device the combination with an .unwinding linger; ofa rotatable spindle carrying the finger; a support for the spindle; and a friction member located between the spindle -and support.j

I'5. In'an unwinding device the combination with an unwinding finger; of a rota'- table spindle carrying the finger' a support for thef'spin'dle; a frlction mem er located between..4 the spindle and support; `and yielding. means for applying pressure 'to said friction means. ,l t .l i. j 6. In'A an unwinding .device the combinaf tion withvan unwinding finger; of a rotalI table spindle ycarrying the "finger ;d a sup.- port for the spindle.; a friction memberlo- 130 cated between the spindle and support;

.and yielding means for applying pressure tion witha rotatably mounted unwindingfinger; of a spindle supporting the finger; a post of metallic material in which the spindle is journaled; a friction device for retarding the free movement of the spindle relatively tothe post, said device including portions of the spindle and post, a member composed of felted material inserted between said portions, and means for maintaining pressure between said felted-material and the spindle and post.

8. In ant unwinding device, the combination with a rotatably mounted unwinding finger; of a rotatable spindle; a post upon which the spindle is journaled; means for maintaining friction between the spindle and post; and a quick detachable connection between the finger and spindle.

9. In an unwinding device, the combination with a rotatably mounted unwinding finger; of a rotatable spindle; a post upon which the spindle isjournaled; yieldable connection between the finger and spindle; and a quick detachable connection between said linger and spindle.

10. In an kunwinding device, the combination with a rotatably mounted unwinding finger; of a rotatable spindle; means for supporting the spindle for rotation; and a friction device for retarding the free movement of the finger, said friction device being provided with means for varying the amount offriction.

11. In an unwinding device, the combination with a rotatably mounted unwinding finger; of a rotatably mounted spindle provided with a shoulder; a Vpost upon which the spindle isjournaled; a washer of felted material located betweenthe washer and lthe spindle and the post, said means being adjustable whereby the friction retarding the movement Aof the finger may be varied.; and means for attaching'the finger to the post.

12. In an unwinding device, the combination with a rotatably mounted un-y winding finger; of a rotatably mounted spindle; means for supporting the spindle; a friction. device for retarding the free movement of the spindle; a thimble mounted upon the spindle; means providing a yielding connection between the finger and thimble; and a quick detachable connection between the thimble'and the spindle.

13. In an unwinding device, the combination with an unwinding finger and a rotatably mounted support therefor; of, means connecting the finger and the -support and tending to cause a reverse rotation of the unwinding finger whereby to take up slack in the wire when said device has stopped.

14. In an unwinding device, the combination with a movable finger for unwinding wire from a spool; of a friction device for retarding the free movement of the finger; and means coperating with-.the finger and friction device whereby upon pulling the wire so as to move the finger the tension in the wire will be gradually increased to a value such that the resultant pull onthe finger will be sufficient to overcome friction at the friction device.

15. In an unwinding device, the combination with a movable finger for unwinding wire from a spool, said finger having relatively small inertia; of a movable membe gradually increased to a value such that the resultant pull on the finger will be sufficient'to overcome the inertia of the supporting member.

16. In an unwinding device, the combination with a rotatable unwinding finger; of a rotatable spindle for carrying the finger; and a quick-detachable ydriving connection between the linger and spindle.

17. In an unwinding device, the combination with a rotatable unwinding finger; of a hub member supporting the finger; a spindle for supporting the hub; said hub and spindle having coperating provisions whereby a quick-'detachable driving connection between the hub and spindle may be effected.

18. In an unwinding device, the combination with a rotatable unwinding finger; of a hub member supporting the finger; a spindle for supporting the hub; said hub and spindle having coperating provisions whereby a quick-detachable driving connection between the hub and spindle may be effected.; and yielding means for retaining the hub upon the spindle. ,y

19. In an unwinding device, the combination with a rotatable unwinding finger; of a hub member supporting the finger; a spindle for supporting the hub; said hub and spindle having coperating provisions whereby a quick-detachable driving connection between the hub and spindle may be effected;

and yielding means mounted on the hub for hub, and carrying a pin adapted -to engage said notch.

21. In an unwinding device, the combina- I bore, and having an annular groove engaged by saidplunger, and carrying a pin adapted to engage said notch.

22. In an unwinding device, the combination with a rotatable unwinding finger; of a rotatably mounted member for supporting the finger; and a. yieldable driving connection between said finger and said member.

23. In an unwinding device, the combination with a rotatable unwinding'inger; of a rotatably mounted member for Supporting the linger; a finger carrying member rotatably mounted upon said supporting member; and a spiral spring connecting said supporting member and Said finger carrying member.

24. In an unwvinding device, the combination with a rotatable unvvinding finger; of

a rotatably mounted member for supporting the finger; a cup shaped 'finger carrying member rotatably mounted upon said supporting member; a cover for said cup-shaped member; a pin carried by said cup-shaped member and extending into a hole in said cover; aspiral spring connecting the pin with said supporting member; and a screw coperating with said supporting member for holding the cover in posit-ion.

25. In an unwinding device, the combinanamed Washer and the other end of the spindle; a nut cooperating with the screw-threaded endof the spindle; and a spring between Said nut and said first-named Washer.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

SAMUEL ROGERS.

lVitnesses FREDERICK J. HARDMAN,

J. W. MoDoNALD. 

